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Beast
The Beast is the male protagonist of Disney's 1991 film, Beauty and the Beast. A prince by birth, he was cursed by a mysterious Enchantress as punishment for his selfish and cruel nature; only by loving another and earning their love in return can the Beast free himself and those affected by the spell before time runs out. As the film is based on the traditional fairy tale of the same name, the Beast is based on the corresponding character from that fairy tale. Background Cursed by an enchantress because he has no love within his heart, a prince is transformed into a terrible beast. The fearful spell can only be broken when he truly learns to love - and can earn the love of another. But who can love a beast? All seems hopeless until fate brings Belle into his world. Angry and despairing due to his long enchantment, the Beast tries to capture Belle's love with fear, not kindness. Then slowly, through her courage and compassion, he begins to discover the secrets of his own heart and learns that even a beast can be loved. Development The earliest versions of the Beast were intended to closely parallel the character in the original fairy tale; originally, the Beast was planned to be humble, gentleman-like, and had a generally welcoming personality, with only an occasional temper. As the film's development progressed, the directors felt changing this aspect would help add dimension to the Beast, but also promote the film's primary moral: "True beauty comes from within." The Beast's design went through many changes during the film's production; at first, most of the initial sketches were little more than humanoids with the head of an animal attached. Desiring a more unconventional model, the filmmakers began brainstorming more unique designs, including a mantis-like version.2 Chris Sanders was responsible for helping come up with the basic design of the Beast. He went from insect forms, avian forms, and fish forms until he finally got the right design.3 Glen Keane, the supervising animator for the Beast, then studied various animals to modify the design and base it around real-life creatures as opposed to alien.4 Ultimately, Keane was inspired to make the Beast a combination of the variety of animals he studied, feeling that this design truly represented the character he envisioned. From his first introduction, the Beast originally appeared to be irritable, selfish, and temperamental, and came off as very hostile, even towards his servants. Yet he also had a very bitter outlook on his life, and was quick to become frustrated and pitch a fit when things did not work his way, showing a spoiled side to his personality. Though these sides of his personality seemed contradictory, they both stemmed from his upbringing as a prince, since his privileged life made him selfish and inconsiderate during his youth, and also led to his curse in the first place when he refused to offer hospitality to strangers. The Beast's dire situation only exacerbated his temperamental nature further but introduced a deep sense of insecurity and shame because of what his past actions had cost him. The Beast's greatest conflict was dealing with his hideous appearance and the retention of his humanity. Although he desired to break the curse, the Beast's dual nature made him truly uncertain of ever becoming human again, especially when many could not even recognize him as once being human. The Beast was ashamed of the monstrous aspect of himself; it was a reminder of both what he had done and what he had become. His shame held a strong hold on him, where often the first thing that often set off his temper was when others reacted to his appearance or his inhuman instincts. These cases created a self-fulfilling cycle, where the Beast reacted with a vicious behavior because he was seen as a vicious creature. Despite appearing infuriated when this became an issue, it was indicated that he could feel guilty for his behavior afterwards; his first interactions with Belle left him feeling morose believing she would only see him as a monster, and later on when his temper got the better of him that he unintentionally scared away Belle, which only supported his doubts, so much so that he saves her life afterwards to make up for his earlier behavior. Though the Beast is stubborn and lacks manners, he is not without a kind side; the Beast can care for others but has difficulty in overcoming his own flaws to express empathy. In addition, his temper belies the Beast's naivety with the world and how to display his feelings towards it. He is best described by his animator Glen Keane as "a twenty-one-year-old guy who's insecure, wants to be loved, wants to love, but has this ugly exterior and has to overcome this".6 His softer nature was hinted at during his first appearance, when he appeared to feel genuinely regretful towards Belle after he sent her father away without letting her say goodbye. Though seemingly aloof, the Beast is not completely apathetic, as he was able to also empathize with Belle and her own misery from his past experiences as a fellow outcast. As a side effect of the curse, he was somewhat primal and had a habit of animalistic behavior, from serious social regressions like growling and roaring when angry to arbitrary, slightly humorous traits like forgetting his table manners. These traits also likened him to that of an untamed animal towards strangers. According to the film's producer Don Hahn, the Beast's spell is not just physical but psychological as well. The longer the Beast is under the spell, the more feral he becomes (meaning if he stays a beast longer, he becomes more like an animal). If Belle had never arrived at the castle, he would have eventually stopped speaking, walking upright, wearing clothes altogether, and would have gone to live in the woods among the wild animals to fend for himself. The film's commentary also implied during the wolf attack scene that he was suicidal, or at least did not value his life too strongly, due to the hopelessness of ever breaking the curse. This was further supported in the Marvel Comics where the Beast, after saving Belle and Chip after they were trapped in a very serious snowstorm, thanked Belle for saving his life, as her presence caused him to realize his own life was not "meaningless" after all7 and his refusal to defend himself when attacked by the villagers and Gaston, instead taking the attacks with a depressed look on his face waiting for the finishing blow, only counter-attacking when he realized that Belle had returned to him. Once the Beast begins to care for Belle after rescuing her from a pack of wolves, he changes from brutish and temperamental to becoming more agreeable and gentle. He even attempts to become civilized again for Belle's sake, relearning table manners and feeding birds, despite his beastly mannerisms. In turn, Belle's acceptance of him despite appearance begins to show his more positive side and he becomes progressively selfless. Learning to care for Belle also reveals a fiercely loyal side to him, as he was willing to give anything and everything to protect Belle and keep her happy, even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness by letting her leave him, even before she can return his love to break the curse. In contrast to his earlier personality where he was bad tempered and easily irritated, near the end of the enchantment the Beast has matured significantly. For instance he is unfazed by Gaston's taunts over his ugliness during their duel on the castle rooftop, much to the chagrin of Gaston who was expecting these insults to goad the Beast into a straight-up fight where Gaston would have the advantage. The Beast instead relied on patience and cunning to gain the element of surprise and upper hand over Gaston. Physical appearance The Beast is not of any one species of animal, but a chimera, a mixture of several animals. He has the head structure and horns of a buffalo, the arms and body of a bear, the eyebrows of a gorilla, the jaws, teeth, and mane of a lion, the tusks of a wild boar and the legs and tail of a wolf. He also bears resemblance to mythical monsters like the Minotaur or a werewolf. He also has blue eyes, the one physical feature that does not change whether he is a beast or a human. Originally, the Beast is seen shirtless, with ragged, dark gray breeches, and a ragged reddish-colored cape with a golden colored circular-shaped clasp. Despite the actual color of his cape being a dark wine red color, The Beast's cape is more often referenced to be purple. The reason for this change in color is unknown, although the most likely reason is because the color purple is often associated with royalty. After the Beast saves Belle from a pack of wolves, his dress style changes, reflecting a more refined personality, as it becomes more disciplined. On the day he showed Belle the library, the Beast wore a white long sleeved collared shirt with a dark blue cape and blue clasp and dark blue pants. While having lunch with Belle, the Beast wore a green vest with gold trimmings, white cuffs, a light green collar, and a white handkerchief. He also wore a white dress shirt with black pants and a light blue sash, as well as an indigo cape with magenta underneath while feeding birds. The most referenced form of dress is his ballroom outfit, which consists of a golden vest over a white dress shirt with a white kerchief, black dress pants trimmed with gold, and a navy blue ballroom tail coat trimmed with gold, worn during the film's ballroom dance sequence. The Beast also tied the back of his fur similar to a ponytail adorned with a medium blue ribbon. In the climax, he is shown wearing a mixture of the above, tattered dark purple pants, his red cape, as well as a white long sleeved collared shirt. The Beast's human form is that of a tall and slender young man (though not as tall as the height of the Beast). He has fair skin, shoulder-length light auburn hair, while also retaining his bright blue eyes. Other than the immediate aftermath of regaining his human form (wearing the clothes he wore as the Beast at that time), he is only ever seen in a more "human" version of his ballroom attire, simply with a pair of brown dress boots with light brown folded sleeves and his hair tied in a low ponytail adorned with a blue clip. In Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, the human form's ballroom outfit had darker brown dress boots with gray folded sleeves. Trivia * It is stated in products licensed by Disney (such as the 1998video game The D Show which was developed by Cyberflix) that Adam is the Prince's name. However, it is actually not his name, as it has been stated in the directors' commentary included in the Beauty and the Beast DVD/Blu-ray as well as the Disney.com FAQ that the character has never had an actual name; he is only referred to as "The Beast" or "the Prince". It was mentioned the writers and producers were so busy that they forgot to give him a name. In an interview with Glen Keane, Keane admitted that the Beast never had an alternative name prior to the film's events.9 ** Regardless, the name Adam has still ended up being used in some licensed Disney Prince/Disney Princess merchandise items.1011 ** However, it's possible that some animators and crew members did refer to The Prince as 'Adam' during production, as Paige O'Hara, the voice actress to Belle, recently confirmed it during a fan Q&A while adding "Disney will always deny it."12 However, it's unknown if the name was given to the character during production on the original film or during production on one of the film's sequel projects. ** Dan Stevens, the actor who portrayed the Beast in the live action movie, also used Prince Adam as the Beast's name during an interview. ** According to the standalone US Weekly issue Secrets From the World of Disney: From Mickey to the Magic Kingdom!, Adam was the Beast's real name. ** Despite the skepticism behind the Beast's real name, there seems to be Biblical inspiration for giving the name as "Adam": According to Glen Keane in a bonus featurette on the Diamond Edition Blu-rayof Beauty and the Beast, when animating the Beast's transformation sequence back to his (now-adult) human form, Glen Keane kept a quote from the Bible with him, from 2 Corinthians 5:17: "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old things has passed away, and all things have become new!", stating how his time working on the film had been a nigh-religious experience for him. * Even though he is referred to as a prince in the opening, none of the characters directly refer to him by that title. In addition, the first draft for Woolverton's take of the film indicated that the Beast was intended to be a duke instead of a prince.13 * According to the first stained-glass window featured in the film's opening sequence, the Prince's family motto is "vincit qui se vincit" (lit. "He Conquers Who Conquers Himself"), which is rather ironic, seeing as the Prince/Beast, who comes from this family, is a character who needs to learn to master himself and learn self-restraint. * Although the Beast and Belle are technically co-protagonists of the film, various members of the production staff, including Howard Ashman, considered Beast the protagonist. * The Beast is the first male character in a Disney fairy tale to have a role that is equally as significant as the female protagonist's. * Some of the sculptures seen in the castle are early concept versions of the Beast. * The Beast's human form in the merchandise has him only wearing his ballroom attire, only his brown dress boots are replaced with light blue socks and a traditional brown dress shoes. * Though the Beast's official age is not mentioned in the movie, it is strongly indicated by the narrator's statement that the rose "would bloom until his 21st year." As the rose has already begun to wilt by the time Belle arrives at the castle, it is very likely that the Beast is 20 years (i.e. on their 21st year) of age by this point. This has been confirmed by Glen Keane, and also in the filmmakers commentary for the extended edition, where it is specifically stated that the Beast's/Prince's 21st birthday would occur at some point after''the enchanted rose has lost all of it's petals and the curse had either been broken, or else become permanent. ** During the song "Be Our Guest" Lumière states "''for ten years, we've been rusting", implying the spell that had changed them all had been active for that amount of time. This, along with the statement the rose would wither by the Beast's 21st birthday, would imply he was cursed at age 11. ** When looking at his shredded portrait in the West Wing however, as well as his appearance in the flashback the sequel, he was likely closer to the age of a teenager when the Enchantress appeared at his door, and ten years was possibly a metaphor for how they never have company, not an actual statement of how long the curse has been active. *** On the other hand, his depiction in the portrait was not an uncommon case: portraits of King Edward Tudor (Edward VI) depict him as looking 18 years of age, when in reality, he was 13 years of age when it was painted, this was the case of children who were the reigning monarchs of their country. *** Moreover, the Prince's flashback appearance in the sequal appearing to look like a teenager is simply down to the way that he was animated. Several other Disney preteens such as Melody, Peter Pan, Taran, and Alex all appear to be older than the age they actually are. ** In the original screenplay of the movie written by Linda Woolverton, the prologue mentions that the Prince was 11 years of age when he was cursed, and that the curse was active for ten years.13 The screenplay also mentions that the Prince was the reigning monarch of the kingdom he lived in and that Lumière and Cogsworth (unnamed at that point) were his regents. Because this was an early draft, it is unknown if this was carried to the final product. ** Some materials have also supported this statement, such as the mobile game Disney Magic Kingdoms explicitly stating the curse was active for ten years.14 It is unknown whether this holds true to the original or only to the game's continuity. ** In authorized supplementary comics, most notably The New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast, the Prince is never shown as being older than a preteen when he's shown as a human; moreover, the palace staff all refer to his pre-curse self as "a young boy" or "child". Two individual comics show that the Prince was originally a few years older than Chip, who didn't age during the curse, and shows him as being a couple years older than Belle herself. The comics also show that the Prince has had a few run-ins with the disguised Enchantress, meaning that he'd still be a preteen when he was cursed. ** Perhaps to avoid this implication, the Broadway musical instead states that the rose "would bloom for many years". ** In the Descendants universe, Belle hinted Beast had married her at the age of 28 when commenting on when he made a good decision as their son is being crowned King at the age of 16. This suggests that in this continuity, Beauty and the Beast took place seven years before Descendants or Beast met Belle at a different age. * The Beast is the first male protagonist to not "save" his female counterpart near the film's climax. He does, however, save Belle from a vicious wolf attack roughly at the film's turning point. * Casting of the Beast was a true challenge, considering the fact the directors were searching for someone who could alternate between a deep, gruff and rather uninviting voice to a soft, prince-like tone. When Robby Benson surprisingly auditioned for the role, the casting directors were both shocked and pleased, and immediately cast him. Critics claim Benson did the role so well that they couldn't even tell it was him. * Several animals were studied and observed during the process of animating the Beast, such as wildebeests, bears, lions, and wolves. * During the fight with Gaston, the Beast says only two words to him: "Get out." * One of the concept artworks for the Beast bore a large resemblance to the character of the same name from the X-Men series from Marvel Comics. Coincidentally, both characters are now owned by Disney, which acquired Marvel in 2009. ** Ironically, one of the "Beautiful & Beastly Mail" correspondences in the second issue of the Beauty and the Beast Marvel Comics actually requested for a crossover between the two beasts, with Barbara Slate stating that, while one isn't in the works, if they do have one, expect "fur to fly."15 * The Beast is one of Disney's most unpredictable characters because at first glance he's a fierce monster but behind the intimidating face is a loving heart, which he displays toward Belle at the end of the film. * As mentioned above, because the viewers of the film grew more attached to the character's beastly form, most merchandising featuring the Beast tries to aim for the use of this form, not his human form. This is also why Beast's human form rarely ever appears as a Meet-and-Greet Character at the Disney Parks, as most patrons prefer to interact with the Beast.3 * Glen Keane went to the Los Angeles Zoo to study animals for the Beast's looks and personality. When he studied a six-hundred-pound antisocial gorilla, Caesar, and tried to draw him, Caesar charged at him and slammed against the bars. Keane knew this was how Belle would feel when she first caught sight of the Beast. * In the movie Enchanted, Robert Philip wears a suit very similar to the Beast's during the ball scene. * When the Beast is getting his hair cut for Belle, the hair style he is given is the same as the Cowardly Lion's from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. * One of the considered voice actors for the Beast during development was Laurence Fishburne. * Other than the opening prologue to the story, the Beast was never actually identified as a prince during the events of the first film. * Originally, when he was planning dinner, the Beast was to bring in a carcass of a slain deer and explicitly chow down on it in front of Belle in a more animalistic manner. However, the scene ended up deleted because the writers realized such a scene would actually have the audience view the Beast with disgust instead of sympathy. Nonetheless, the Beast hunting for his food in a more animalistic manner is still implied in the film with the presence of a rotting ribcage being seen briefly in the West Wing. * In the Special Edition of the film, because of the addition of "Human Again", the scene where Beast roars in despair at having to let Belle go was slightly altered to include glass shattering to imply that Beast, while still filled with despair at having to do this, ended up smashing up the then-recently restored West Wing in order to have the song connect better with the main film where it was still tarnished during the climax. * According to Alan Menken, in the 2017 adaptation, one of the new songs written for the film "Evermore", sung by the Beast after he lets Belle go, is a love song to effectively takes the place of the reprise of "If I Can't Love Her" from the musical.16 * The Beast's death scene originally had a more cheery underscore, as heard on the first soundtrack, the Special Edition credits, and a DVD bonus feature, but the film itself had a more somber underscore, which had been retained on the Special Edition soundtrack. * Adam Mitchell provided the singing voice for the young prince in the 2017 film. * Dan Stevens' portrayal as the Beast in the 2017 film was partially inspired by Wreck-It Ralph. 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